How will XYN support spatial content creation? Yiotis Katsambas, Vice President of Technology at Sony Pictures Animation, discusses his expectations for XYN from an animation production perspective.
- Yiotis Katsambas
- Sony Pictures Animation
With XR and 3DCG technology, designing the creative environments that don't exist in reality
ー Where in the production process are on XR and 3D CG techniques particularly useful?
Yiotis：We're just starting to research ways in which XR could be helpful in our production pipeline at Sony Pictures Animation. One area that XR could be really helpful is in exploring our 3D environments and in fine-tuning designs in a 3D space for previsualization, before production starts.
ー How is XR and 3DCG technology expected to be used in the field of animation production?
Yiotis： In animation, we design these really expansive environments that don't exist in reality, and our artists want the ability to fully explore these incredible locations. Using the Head Mount Display, our artists can immerse themselves in these 3D environments and explore them in real time as if they're in a real location.
Challenges in Technological Evolution in Animation Production Workflow
ー What are the main pain points of working with 3D assets in animation production today?
Yiotis： The biggest challenge in making a CG animated movie is really coming up with an engaging and visually stunning story. We have a massive number of assets that we need to design and build for every movie, so we're always looking for tools that allow artists to explore and fine-tune these environments and 3D assets with as little technical effort as possible, so they are free to focus on creativity.
In building an environment, most of the time we start with 2D drawings and paintings, and then we build those assets in the 3D space. Historically, that transition is very time-consuming. When artists look at environments in 3D, they always want to make adjustments and improvements to push the quality from good to great to truly inspiring.
As they move the camera around, the composition changes, and they might want to move some of the furniture, add a window to let some more light in, make the space larger or smaller, and so on. Our artists are encouraged to try as many adjustments as possible and fine-tune these environments before production starts, because once production starts, it becomes more costly and time consuming to make these kinds of changes.
ー Are there any technical issues incorporating XR and 3D CG in animation production today?
Yiotis： The goal should be to create a visual design that is appealing and tells a compelling story. I would like to see technology that optimizes creators' resources so that more time and energy is spent on creativity.
New Dimension of Technology Unleashes Creativity of Creators
ー What did you think of XYN's spatial content production support solutions?
Yiotis： With XYN, Sony is entering a new dimension of creativity. XYN helps studios like ours explore worlds in ways that it wasn't possible before. I'm really excited actually to be part of this in some way, and more excited really about our artists and all the new workflow opportunities that it creates.
ー How are you using XYN's head-mounted display?
Yiotis： We created an app in-house called FlixiVerse. With FlixiVerse, our goal was to make it easier for artists to move in 3D environments, even if they had never used any 3D application before. The way that FlixiVerse works is it uses a controller to move around in a 3D environment as if you're playing a video game. Artists can capture still images from whatever you're looking at, which are then shared automatically with everyone else working on the movie. This became a really powerful way for our creators to develop very dynamic shots instantly.
We connected our FlixiVerse to the Sony Head Mount Display prototype, and it creates a much more immersive experience. It's great to move around in an environment and feel it's a real location, and the more the image quality is great. The experience overall is very responsive and intuitive. It's pretty surreal when you look at the environment and you kneel down to take an upshot, and you're shooting as if it's a live action movie.
ー What about mocopi?
Yiotis： Sony’s mocopi system is a relatively low cost, easy to use motion capture system, allowing many of our artists to have it available at the desks. It's easy to put on and in a few minutes capture some action that they can use for previs or for reference. It's such a great way to explore ideas quickly early on. The more you visualize early on in the process and before production starts, the better. As an example, if it takes you a full week to do an animation test, you're not likely to have the time or resources to work on very many tests. But if you can do a few animation tests in an hour, you will surely spend more time exploring ideas and the final result will greatly benefit.
ー What are your expectations for XYN in the future?
Yiotis： I'm excited about the new workflow opportunities that XYN products open up for our creators. XYN will be key to Sony opening up a new dimension in creativity. I'm truly excited about the potential for this technology to enhance the work that we do.
